Whilst fine by me morally, setting up a charity for donations to fund the No 10 flat redecoration may be a case of incredible bad political timing, as discussed here:
www.spectator.co.uk
"Back in 1998, the then-Lord Chancellor came under fire from all sides after he described spending £650,000 of public money on decorating his flat as a 'noble cause'.
Lord Irvine of Lairg claimed the investment on his official apartment in the House of Lords would be appreciated by future generations. That 'investment' included £59,000 on wallpaper. Reflecting on the price of the wallpaper, Lord Irvine told the Commons Public Administration Committee he had no reason to apologise.
At the time, senior Conservatives including then Shadow Trade President John Redwood were quick to go on the attack over the 'extravagance'.
Is history about to repeat itself? After all, at a time when the Chancellor is considering hiking taxes, it's hardly a good look for the Prime Minister to be attempting a lavish home makeover at the expense of others. Are we about to see the Red Wall vs the Gold Wall?"
However, surely it's better to have private funding for this rather ostentatious extravagance rather than expecting the taxpayer to stump up as Irvine did in '98?
Could Carrie Symonds use the Irvine defence? | The Spectator
After a year of intermittent lockdowns, many Britons have spent too long looking at the walls of their flat and have started to consider an interior upgrade. So, who can blame the Prime Minister's fiancé Carrie Symonds for thinking similar? The Daily Mail reports that Symonds has recently...
www.spectator.co.uk
"Back in 1998, the then-Lord Chancellor came under fire from all sides after he described spending £650,000 of public money on decorating his flat as a 'noble cause'.
Lord Irvine of Lairg claimed the investment on his official apartment in the House of Lords would be appreciated by future generations. That 'investment' included £59,000 on wallpaper. Reflecting on the price of the wallpaper, Lord Irvine told the Commons Public Administration Committee he had no reason to apologise.
At the time, senior Conservatives including then Shadow Trade President John Redwood were quick to go on the attack over the 'extravagance'.
Is history about to repeat itself? After all, at a time when the Chancellor is considering hiking taxes, it's hardly a good look for the Prime Minister to be attempting a lavish home makeover at the expense of others. Are we about to see the Red Wall vs the Gold Wall?"
However, surely it's better to have private funding for this rather ostentatious extravagance rather than expecting the taxpayer to stump up as Irvine did in '98?
